LMS | News

Moodlerooms, Cengage Partner for joule LMS Integration

• By David Nagel
• 07/25/11

At the Campus Technology 2011 conference, happening this week in Boston, Moodlerooms and Cengage Learning revealed a new partnership that will allow the companies' learning tools to interact and bring new integration features to the open source learning management system Moodle.

Moodlerooms is the maker of joule, a learning management system designed for both K-12 and higher education built on the Moodle platform. It provides course management and content management capabilities, as well as a learning repository, reporting and analytics, assessment capabilities, and tools for collaboration.

Cengage Learning is a textbook publisher and developer of several technologies for schools, libraries, and colleges and universities. These technologies include CourseMate, a curriculum tool that includes e-learning features, flashcards, quizzes, and other resources; CourseMaster, a learning outcomes management tool; and Course360, an e-learning and course management system.

Through the partnership, Moodlerooms' joule will gain integration with various Cengage tools, including support for single sign-on, the ability to embed links to Cengage resources directly within joule, and the ability to use various joule features within Cengage's software, including some of joule's collaboration features.

The companies described the integration as "a truly seamless, bi-directional user experience between Cengage Learning and Moodlerooms solutions."

The agreement also calls for ongoing interoperability development for Cengage's MindTap program "and future product development." MindTap is a platform is designed to work across devices--traditional computers, smart phones, and tablets--to deliver coursework, learning management, and a range of educational materials.

In addition to interoperability between joule and Cengage technologies, the partnership will result in new integration features for the Moodle platform itself through Moodle's implementation of the IMS Global Basic LTI specification. According to information released by the companies, Cengage and Moodlerooms "will co-develop new interfaces to expose services within Moodle, and both parties will contribute code to the community."

"Our partnership with Cengage Learning ensures seamless, open access to valuable teaching and learning solutions for the more than 40 million Moodle users around the world," said Lou Pugliese, Moodlerooms chairman and CEO, in a prepared statement released Monday. "This relationship is designed to provide more open, flexible and innovative interoperability that proprietary (closed system) LMS platforms, by design, are not able to achieve."

Moodlerooms is in booth 664 in the Campus Technology 2011 exhibit hall, which opens Tuesday.